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{
    "id": 942384,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/942384/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Endebess, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Robert Pukose",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1458,
        "legal_name": "Robert Pukose",
        "slug": "robert-pukose"
    },
    "content": "This is a very key Motion considering that some of us are from agricultural potential areas. Trans Nzoia is the bread basket of this country in as far as maize farming is concerned. But, currently, we are also diversifying and planting tea, coffee, wheat and other crops. We are also doing large scale dairy farming. We hope the Government will actualise the Crops Act, 2013, where we are able to put data for all our farmers as they form associations. We will be able to know what kind of farming activity farmers within an area are engaged in. It is a shame that this country is always talking of the country facing famine and having a shortage of a certain number of bags of maize when, in reality, those are just figures that are concocted by cartels so that they can have an opportunity to import maize when, at that time, there is enough crop production. It is not backed by anything scientific. People sit in conferences and just claim that we now have a shortage of this number of bags without really understanding how much is being produced at that time. This is because of the seasons in this country in as far as maize farming is concerned. South Rift will produce maize during a certain period while Western and North Rift will produce at different months. So, how can you synchronise all this data so that you can say in sincerity that we have a shortage of this number of bags without lying to Kenyans? That has been our biggest problem. The other biggest problem has been in terms of the farm inputs where we talk of subsidies. Those subsidies have actually never helped farmers. They have helped the middlemen and the businesspeople to make money out of it because when the Government puts up those subsidies, the fertiliser inputs that the Government intends for the farmers ends up with the middlemen and the actual farmer buys at a higher market price. This year, there were no subsidies from the Government and our crop is even better because the quality of the fertiliser that we have used is of good quality. What happens when the Government subsidises? We have cheap imports and fertiliser of low standard being brought into the market and sold to the middlemen and the middlemen sell it to the farmers at a high cost. When we put it in our farms, the yield is lower because what has been imported is substandard. Those are the things that the Government needs to seriously think about. Last year, the Government came up with an issue of having the data of farmers where extension workers, the chiefs and assistant chiefs were tasked to register farmers. However, the programme ended abruptly. It never materialised. It never took place and was never actualised. I do not know where that data ended up because they never took proper data. That was only happening during the time farmers were taking their produce to the NCPB. You would be in line waiting to deliver your produce and the chief or ward administrator would identify you as coming from a certain area. That would happen to even farmers who had rented or leased farms. Farming is not just a question of you producing from your own farm. You can lease land from somebody else and be able to produce. So, those are issues that I think Hon. (Dr.) Mutunga and the team should sit down and address. When you come up with data, please, let us have public participation. Involve the crop- growing constituencies so that they are able to give their input and have proper data being taken for this country, which will be able to help us now and in future, especially to address one of the Big Four Agenda, which is food security. If there is nothing that the Government can do among the Big Four, let them address the issue of food security for this country because that can go a long way to change what is happening in this country. With those few remarks, I support. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}